The Baroque Art Accessibility Consortium

Author: Brian

  • Danaë and the Shower of Gold

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    Brian
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    Danaë and the Shower of Gold (c1623) by Orazio Gentileschi. The subject draws from a tale in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where King Acrisius of Argos locks away his stunning daughter, Danaë, in a desperate attempt to thwart a prophecy foretelling that her future son would be his undoing. Defying mortal barriers, Jupiter descends in a shimmering…

  • Portrait of Isabella Brant

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    “Portrait of Isabella Brant” (c.1625) by Peter Paul Rubens. Any art museum that has 17th century art will have at least one Rubens and the Cleveland Art Museum is no exception. The museum features two of Rubens paintings and both of them include Isabella. Isabella was Rubens first wife and the daughter of important city…

  • The Crucifixion of St. Andrew

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    Caravaggio’s “The Crucifixion of St. Andrew” stands out prominently among the works in the room at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Acquired by the museum in 1976, the painting had only recently been attributed to Caravaggio. After disappearing from historical records in 1653, it resurfaced centuries later in a convent in Spain and was published…

  • Samson and Delilah

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    Samson and Delilah (1616) by Gerritt von Honthorst. This is a fantastic representation of the Utrecht Caravaggisti, as von Honthorst and several of his contemporaries finished their formal education in the Netherlands and then spent several years in Rome where they were heavily influenced by Caravaggio’s paintings. Upon their return to Utrecht, the popularized the…

  • Martha and Mary of Bethany

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    The Sunday Gospel in the Catholic church covered Luke Chapter 10, when Jesus visited Martha and Mary in Bethany. Martha was busy with hosting duties, while Mary sat listening to Him. Martha asked Jesus to make Mary help, but He praised Mary for choosing what truly matters. Diego Velázquez paints an amazing scene that is…

  • Martha and Mary

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    In keeping with the theme of Martha and Mary of Bethany, we take another look on Caravaggio’s amazing Martha and Mary Magdalene (1598). This piece is typically interpreted as the moment that Mary Magdalene turns away from her life of sin as a prostitute and embraces God as her sister Martha pleads with her. Today,…

  • St. Peter Repentant

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    St. Peter Repentant (1645) by Georges de La Tour shows a wide-eyed St. Peter, with his hands clasped in grief, contemplating his denial of Jesus. We see the rooster to reinforce the Bible story where Peter denied that he was with Jesus three times before the cock crowed. LaTour is unique among famous Baroque artists…

  • Boy Drinking

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    “Boy Drinking”(1582-83) by Annibale Carracci is a fantastic piece at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This genre scene is an early work by Carracci and is particularly notable for its naturalism, notice the way that the glass distorts the images. Also extremely interesting is the way Carracci’s painting technique matches the subject matter. Meaning the…

  • The Crucifixion

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    “The Crucifixion” (1627) by Francisco de Zurbarán. The black background and amazing detail on Jesus’ body and loin cloth make this painting feel three dimensional. It is unknown if Zurbaran ever saw Caravaggio’s paintings, but looking at this piece, it is hard to believe he had not. 

  • Behold the Lamb of God

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    Estaban Murillo Ecce Agnes Dei (c.1655) “Behold the Lamb of God” depicts adult John the Baptist and Jesus together. John the Baptist has his traditional iconography of being barefoot with camel skin clothing, staff with cross and red cloak as well as gesturing toward Jesus. Jesus is standing humbly with his purple cloak. It is…